Grinding machine



W. DE COURSEY.

GRINDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man MAYZI, 1920. RENEWED JAN. 4. I922.

Patented 001k. 1W, M22,

5 SHEETS-SHEEI W. DE COURSEY.

' GRINDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1920. RENEWED JAN. 4. 1922.-

Patented 00t- W, 1922.

5 SHEE TS-SHEET 2.

(1H0: M Ma W. DE COURSEY.

GRINDING MACHINE.

1920- RENEWED JAN. 4. 1922- APPLICATION FILED MAY 21 m 92% IT D mu d8 5 n m P.

W. DE COURSEY.

GRINDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, I920. RENEWED JAN. 4, I922.

L%L%%% Patented Oct. 10, 11922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

MMW @Zmnwy w. DE COURSEY.

GRINDING MACHINE. APPLIQKTION FILED MAYZI, I920- RENEWED JAN. 4,1922- Patented Oct. 10, 1192 2.

5 SHEETS-SHEET S.

attorney! WILIIA'M DE COURSEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

GRINDING MACHINE.

Application filed May 21, 1920, Serial No. 383,094. Renewed January 4, 1922. Serial No. 527,052.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DE CoURsEY,

a citizen of the United States, residing at.

San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco, Stateof California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grinding Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mills, and more especially to grinding mills of the chaslng type; and the broad object of the same is to produce av grinder of this kind which will operate on ore or other coarse material to first break it up into small particles by throwing it centrifugally outward through the action of a revolving distributer, and then grind the particles into powder.

The invention consists specifically'in the mechanical construction of a machine for carrying out this broad idea, and may be said to include as its features: The rotary distributer for hurling pieces of ore outward, and the anvil plates against which they strike; the driving mechanism for the distributer, and the means for keeping dust from said mechanism and bearings; the mounting of the distributer loosely and its revolution on a mainshaft, and the rotation of the latter at a different speed for the performance ofother work; the grinding mechanism including the specific form of mullers; the means for imparting rotation to each muller eccentric to the axis of its spindle, and for permitting its rise and fall to accommodate the thickness of the stratum being pulverized and ground; the means for exhausting the powdered material from a point near the center of the grinding pan,

, and for keeping it out of the bearings of the main shaft; the driving means for said main shaft accessible without dismounting the entire machine; the lubricating system for the various parts; the sectional casing rendering it possible to gain access to parts or to operate the machinery without thedistributer; and other details which will be set forth below and amplified in the appended claims.

The invention also contemplates coupling up the machine with a fan blower or the like so as to set up a circulation of air downward or upward for carrying off the powder produced by grinding the fine particles, and

, of Figure 1.

when the flow of air is upward the machine may be used either with or without the coarse grinding or breaking mechanism.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through this machine complete.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the distributer, partly broken away to show one of its wings com lete.

F1gure3 is a detail of one of the anvil plates.

Figure 4 is a cross section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, partly broken away.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional detail of the belt tightener.

Figure 6 is a cross section on the line 6-6 Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of the plate carrying the wormshaft, lower hear ing for the main shaft, and the spout.

Figure 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Figure 7 Figure 9 is an elevation of the complete machine. showing suction means connected with its lower end.

Figures '10 and 11 are elevations of the machine with suction means connected with its upper end, the former view including and the latter excluding part of the shell.

Figure 12 is a plan view of the machine shown in Figure 11 omitting the air pipes. In some cases the material to be ground or powdered may be crushed by other means or mechanism and introduced in that condition into this machine, but in its complete form my invention contains the crushing mechanism as one unit thereof, and it is this form which I will first describe.

For convenience the casing of this machine is made in several parts superimposed on each other so that they may be lifted 0F successively to gain access to the mechanisms which they contain, and these parts may be referred to as a base, a body upon 1t containing the grinding mechanism, a cap upon the body enclosing the drive for said grinding mechanism and also containing the dr1ving mechanism for the distributer and the distributer itself, and a cover forthe cap which carries a hopper through which material is fed to the distributer. With the exception of such details of these parts of the casing as will yet be referred to, they may be briefly described here as follows:

Th base comprises a plurality of legs 1 supporting a circular top plate 2. This plate has a large central opening 3 beneathwhich is removably secured as by screws 4 a plate 5 carrying a cup 6 rising throu h said opening for a purpose yet to be escribed, and this plate also has arms 7 carrying bearings 8 which are accessible between the legs of the open base. The top plate 2 of this base constitutes the bottom of the body element of the casing. Said body includes a cylindrical shell 10 having a top plate 12 carrying a number of bosses 13 containing bearings for a use to be set forth below, and this plate has radial ducts 14 intersecting said bearings whereby a lubricant may be admitted to them. This plate constitutes the bottom of the next or cap element of the casing. Said cap includes a cylindrical shell 15 having a central cup 16 rising from a partition 17 within the shell at some distance above its lower end, this partition being spaced above the top plate 12 to produce a chamber for'the mechanism which drives the mullers. Said partition also carries bearings 18 for the shaft which is geared to the distributer, past which the latter the shell 15 rises, its upper end being closed by a cover plate 19 removably secured upon the cap. The entire casing as thus made up is a cylindrical structure supported by legs with its false bottom plate 2 some distance above the floor so that the ready access may be had between said legs to the driving mechanism at the bottom.

The legs may be well bolted or otherwise secured to the floor, and power may be applied to the two shafts from suitable sources and in suitable ways not necessary to illustrate.

Mounted in a bearing 28 in one of the legs and through said bearings 8 of the late 5 .hub being closed and is a shaft 21- carrying a worm 22 Which engages a worm wheel 23 fast on the lower end of the main shaft 24. The latter rises through a bearing within a boss at the center of the removable plate 5, and extends thence up to a point at the center of a lip 25 which surrounds the mouth of a hopper 26 carried by the cover 19. At its upper end this shaft is reduced and threaded to receive a nut 27 which holds removably on the shaft the inner member of a bearing 29 whose outer member is fast within the hub 30 of a distributor, the upper end of the said hearing and nut covered and protected from dust by a cap nut 31. Said distributer is a rotary mem-. her having a disk-like bottom 32 and a conical top 33 whose walls converge to a mouth 35 whlch is of a size, to freely enclose the 11 25, and between the top and bottom p ates the distributer contains a number of inyolute or spiral wings 36 as best seen in Flgure 2. Within the shell 15 of the cap around the distributer are disposed a series of anvil plates or segments 37, each preferably having its inner face corrugated or toothed as at 38, and packing of leather or other cushioning material 39 is disposed behind each plate and between it and the shell so as to reduce noise. The cover may well be shouldered as at 34 to hold the plates in place, and obviously they may be replaced when they become worn. Attention is here invited to the fact that the distributer is loosely mounted by the bearing 29 on the up per end of the main shaft 24.

In the bearings 18 within the shell 15 is journaled a shaft 41 whose inner end carries a gear 42 meshing with another gear 43 whose hub is fixed within a socket within the lower end of the hub 30 of the distributer, and this gear 43 restson the thrust hearing 49 which is supported by a boss 47 rising from the partition 17 at the center of the cup 16. Depending from the bottom 32 of the distributer is an annular flange 44 carrying a dust ring 45 as of rubber or the like, which travels on the upper edge of the cup 16 so as to exclude dust from such cup and therefore from the bearing 49 and the gears 42 and 43. Said shaft 41 and therefore the distributer rotates at a speed of about 2000 R. P. M., while the worm shaft 21 has a speed of about 1725 R. P. M., although of course these figures may be changed.

The main shaft is journaled through a bearing within a boss 53 at the center of the top plate 12, and just above this boss said shaft carries a power sprocket 50 driving a chain belt 51 which leads around a series of driven sprockets 52, preferably in the main ner illustrated in Figure 4. Each of these sprockets is fast on the upper end of a spindle 54 mounted in a bearmg through one of the bosses 13 and carrying at its lower, end a muller such as described below, and it will be seen from Figure 4 that these mullers are disposed substantially in two annular series around the main shaft which is the axis of the machine, and they will rotate in the direction of the arrows. Idler sprockets 55 may be employed at intervals, and a belt tightener sprocket 56 (see Figure 5) will be mounted on a stud 57 having a headed lower end 58 movably mounted in a guide or housing 59, so that this stud and its sprocket can be adjusted to take up looseness in the belt, a lock nut 57 being employed for holding the stud in adjusted position. At an appropriate point, preferably entirely out-of line with the chain driving mechanism and belt tightener, the partition 17 is .provided with a large opening and carries a tube constituting a passage 17' through which the material broken up or granulated by the distributer may drop past the driving mechanism and through the to plate 12 into the pan yet to be described. igure 4 shows only .one

.ing mechanism within the chamber.

To the lower end of each spindle 54 which projects below the plate 12 is keyed or otherwise secured a. driving dog 60 having a radially projecting nose 61 at one point, and

below such dog the spindle extends loosely into a cavity 62 of ample size, formed by the space between male and female sections 63 and 64 of a grinding element or muller,

one section having an upstanding spur 65' adapted to be engaged by the nose in whatever position the lower end of the spindle occupies within the cavity. The members or sections of the muller are connected face to face by pin-and-socket means 66, and are drawn toward each other by screws or bolts 67, and their lower ends are cut out so as to be clamped upon a rib 68 which rises from a grinding surface or shoe 69 of carborundum or similar abrading material. Rotation of the spindle through the nose and spur is'communicated to the muller, so that this shoe 69 rotates over the bottom of the pan 70 yet to be described, but the looseness of the spindle within the cavity 62 permits the connected parts of the muller to'have a considerable radial movement on the spindle,

. so that invariably the shoe grinds eccentrically to the spindle itself. Meanwhile also,

as the thickness of the stratum of material in the pan increases, the muller may rise on the spindle, and at all times it is held down on said material by itsweight. Any muller may be removed for replacement or repair of parts by withdrawing the screws or bolts 67 and disconnecting its members which of course frees its shoe. It may be well to have several mullers in each of the two annular series or rings, those in the inner ring operating nearer the main shaft and rotating in one direction and those in the outer ring operating nearer the wall of the pan and rotating in the other direction; but obviously the invention is not limited to the number of rings, the number of mullers in any ring, or their exact disposition. Also the chain ma be variously led around the driven sprockets 52. and the latter may be replaced by others of different size in case it is desired to accelerate or retard the speed of rotation of any grinding unit. Oil supplied or admitted from a grease cup to the ducts 14 finds its way to the bearings around the spindles.

Said pan preferably has a flat bottom with a depending central hub 71 surrounding and keyedon the main shaft and sup ported by a thrust bearing 79 carried at the top of the'boss 20, an inverted cup-shaped dust guard 72 overlying this bearing and its skirt surrounding the boss within the,

cup 6 so as to exclude dust from said bearing and from the worminechanism at the bottom of the shaft. Spokes 7 3 connect the hub with a surrounding depending flange 7 4 which carries a ring 7 5 of rubber 'or the like resting upon and moving over the edge of the cup 6 so as to make 'a practically air-tight joint therewith, and the outlet passages 76 between the hub and flange may be covered at their upper ends by a fine mesh screen 77 through which the ground material whichhas been reduced to powder may pass into the cup. As perhaps best seen in Figure 8, an exhaust spout 78 leads from one point in the cup to carry 03 the powdered material.

It has not been thought necessary to am- I plify many details. but it is quite obvious that the main shaft could be drilled from its upper end with an oil duct 80, communicating by lateral branches 81 with the interior of the bearing in the central boss 53. Also another duct 82 could be drilled from the lower end of this shaft upward and communicate by lateral branches 83 with the bearing in the boss 20 a'nd possibly by other branches with the'thrust bearing 79. The various shafts and spindles will be enclosed in sleeves or tubes within their bearings, and other means will be provided for resisting wear and prolonging the life of the machine. A brush 85 may be attached to or mounted loosely on the main shaft to rotate therewith by friction, its bristles overlying the screen plates 77 to keep them free. The worm shaft and worm mechanism is accessible without taking down any part of the casing, and the entire shaft 21 might be withdrawn from its worm and its bearings.

With the above construction of parts, material in lumps being fed-into the hoppers 26 drops through its mouth into the distributer which is rapidly rotated by the shaft 41 and the gearing, and the spiral wings within said distributer hurl the lumps outward against the anvil plates 37 where they are broken up or granulated. Falling thence past the edge of the disk 32, the material drops next through the passage 17 into the rotating pan 70. Here it is ground by the shoes of the several mullers which rest by gravity on the material on the bottom of the pan, the mullers themselves being rotated eccentrically to and by their spindles and with the inner series in a direction opposite to that of the outer series. The centrifugal force of the larger particles of material will cause them to move radially outward within the pan, so that they will be treated by the mullers in the outerring or series. Smaller particles of material will be treated by the inner ring, and material which has been reduced to a powder will find its waythrough the screens 77 and the outlet passages 76 to the interior of the cup 6, and thence from the spout 78. From the latter the powder may be allowed to flow under the downward current of air set up by the rapid rotation of the distributer, and in addition it may be drawn or exhausted by connecting this spout through a pipe 88 with any well known air exhaust mechanism such as the fan F indicated in Figure 9, the action of this fan producing a partial vacuum. The substantially air-tight connection between the ring 75 and the edge of the cupcauses this vacuum to exert a suction downward through the outlet passages and screens, and in fact the suction is felt to an extent clear to the top of the-machine, there being a considerable inrush of air through the hopper which of course expedites the flow of material along the course described.

Referring now to Figures 10 and 11 of the drawings, it will be seen that means 1118,? be provided to cause the air to flow upward instead of downward through the machine. In Figure 10 a hood 90 is applied to the hopper 26, and a pipe 91 leads from this hood to an air suction device such as a fan F, a number of settling chambers 92 depending from the pipe throughout its length. From the outlet side of the fan F a pipe 93 leads into a cyclone separator 94, preferably communicating tangentially with the upper end of the same, and from the center of the latter another pipe 95 leads onward and is connected with the spout 78 at the bottom I a second cycle.

of the machine. The hood 90 has an opening 96 for feeding the material into the machine, and within this opening is located a feed mechanism or air gate of such type that particles of material may pass through, but air may not. The construction of the settling chambers is not essential;.,also that of the cyclone separator 94, but it is obvious that the dust will accumulate in these chambers and practically clean air will be pumped back into the spout 78.

The construction illustrated in Figure 11 is substantially the same, excepting that the hood 90 is omitted and the pipe 91 is connected directly with one of the pipes or openings 17 through the top plate 12 of the body, all parts above the same having been removed. Material will now be fed to the machine through one of the other openings 17', and must therefore be in articles of roper size to be ound by t e mullers. Iere also the fan li zreates a suction which draws the dust into the pipe 91 and permits it to accumulate in the settling chambers and cyclone separator, while the pipe 95 delivers practically pure air to the spout 78,

whence it passes u through the machine on T is use of the machine in no way interferes with the grinding or pulverizing action of its mullers as the only dif-.- ference is that the powder they produce is drawn upward out of the machine instead of downward. In any case the eccentric disposition of such mullers on their spindles and the rotation thereof toward each other in pairs, causes them to knead and crush the particles which pass bet-ween them or between the outer muller and the rim of the pan. Meanwhile also the weight of the mullers upon the material on the bottom of i the pan carried under them by its rotating movement, will crush such particles as escape the kneading action. The rapid extraction of the powdered particles or dust removes it from the pan as fast as it is formed, leaving the mullers only to act on such material as has not yet been reduced to a size small enough to be susceptible to the air blast.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the type described, the combination with mechanism for breaking material into particles, and separate subjacent mechanism for grinding the particles into powder; of means for delivering the particles from the breaker to the grinder, the latter having an outlet passage near its center, a cup surrounding said passage, a substantially airtight connection between the rim of the cup and the grinder, and suction means connected with said cup.

2. In a machine of the type described, the combination with mechanism for breaking material into particles, and separate subjacent mechanism for grinding theparticles into powder, the breaking mechanism including a member constructed and arranged to induce a circulation of air therefrom to the grinding mechanism; of an exhaust spout below said grinding mechanism, and suction means applied to said spout whereby to continue the circulation through the grinder.

3. In a machine of the type described, the combination .with an upright casing having a feed hopper opening through its top and spaced plates'across its body with a chamber between them, there being a passage across such chamber from the space above to the space below said plates, and rotary mechanism in the upper space for breaking materials into particles, the latter falling through said passage; of a rotating pan in the lower space receiving said particles and having an outlet for powder near its center, grinding elements within said pan, spindles rising from the elements through the lower plate, driving mechanism for the spindles located within said champowder anatee such chamber from the space above to the space below said plates, and rotary mechanism in the upper space forcbreaking materials into particles, the latter falling through said passage; of a rotating pan in the lower space receiving said particles and having an outlet for powder near its center, grinding elements disposed in annular series within the pan and resting on its bottom, each having a cavity opening out its upper end and an upstanding spur at one side of the cavity, a spindle for each element journaled through the lower plate and extending loosely into said cavity, a dog on this spindle having a radial nose engaging said spur, mechanism located within said chamber for rotating all the spindles, and means for exhausting the powder through said outlet in the pan.

5. In a machine of the type described,.the combination with an upright casing composed of'a plurality of shells superposed on each other and a cover for the uppermost shell provided with a feed hopper opening through it, plates across the several shells defining chambers within the casing and having bearings, a rotary breaking mechanism and its driving means mounted in the bearings of the uppermost chamber and including anvil plates fixed in the shell of this chamber, an upright main shaft journaled in central bearings through the plates and on which shaftthe-breakng mechanism is loosely mounted, and driving means for said shaft located within the lowermost shell of the casing; of grinding mechanism including a pan within that shell of the casing next above said last-named driving mechanism and fast on and rotating with the shaft and grinders resting on the bottom of the pan, spindles connected with said grinders and rising through a casing plate into the next chamber, driving mechanism in such chamber connecting the spindles with the main shaft, and means for exhausting the finished product from said pan.

6. In a machine of the type described, the combination with a shell having a top plate provided with a central boss and bosses around it, an upright shaft journaled through the central boss, a pan fast on said shaft and having passages near its center and a depending flange around such passages, a cup having a'spout, and a flexible ring making a substantially air-tight connection between said. flange--and cup; of means for revolving said shaft and pan, a driving element fast on the shaft above said central boss, spindles journaled through the other bosses and having driven elements connected with said driving element, rotating grinders mounted eccentrically on the lower ends of the spindles and resting on the bot-- tom of saidpan, and means for admitting material to the top of the pan.

7. In a machine of the type described, the combination with a shell having a top plate provided with a central boss and bosses around it, an upright shaft journaled through the central boss, a pan fast on said shaft and having passages near its center and a depending flange around such passages, a cup having a spout, and a flexible ring making a substantially air-tight connection between said flange and cup; of means for revolving said shaft and pan, a

driving sprocket fast on the shaft above said central boss, spindles journaled in the other bosses and having driven sprockets on their upper ends, said sprockets, a belt tightener therefor, grinding elements mounted on the lower ends of the spindles and resting on the bottom of the pan, and means for admitting material to the pan.

8. In a machine of the type described, the combination with a shell having a top plate provided with a central boss and two series of bosses in rings around it, an uprlght shaft journaled through the central boss, a pan having a central hub fast on said shaft and surrounded by openings and these in turn by a depending flange, screens for said openings, a fixed cup surrounding the flange and having a spout, a dust ring carried by the flange and overlying the rim of the cup, and means for rotating said shaft; of a driving element fast on the shaft above said central boss, spindles journaled through the other bosses and having driven elements connected with said driving element, rotating grinders mounted on the lower ends of the spindles and resting on the bottom of said pan, and means for admitting material to the pan.

9. In a rinding machine, the combination' with a casing, a plate across the same having a large central opening, a second plate secured to the first and having a cup rising through said central opening and having also a central boss, a spout on said cup, an upright shaft journaled through said boss,- and driving means at the lower end of the shaft; of a pan having a hub fixed on said shaft and pierced with passages near the same, a thrust bearing in said boss beneath the hub, a dust ring connecting the hub and cup, a series of grinders resting on the bottom of the pan, a top plate for the casing having a series of bearings, spindles for the grinders journaled in' said bearings, and connections between said spindles and the main shaft above said top plate.

10. In a grinding machine, the combination-with a casing, a plate across the same having a large central opening, a second plate secured to the first and having a cup rising through said central opening and having also a central boss, a spout on said cup, an upright shaft journaled through said a chain belt trained around all tion eccentric thereto for rotating boss, and driving means for the shaft; of a pan having a hub fixed on said shaft and pierced with passages near the same, a thrust bearing in said boss beneath the hub, an inverted cup-shaped dust guard carried by the hub and its skirt enclosing said boss, a dust ring carried by the hub and overlying the upper edge of the cup, a top plate for said casing having an opening therethrough for the admission of material to be ground, a series of upright spindles journaled in said top plate .and operatively connected with the main shaft, and a series of mullers loosely mounted on the lower ends of the spindles and resting on the bottom of the pan.

11. In a grinding machine, the combination with a pan rotatably mounted on a vertical shaft and having passages near its center, a cup below the pan, and a spout on the cup; of a series of bearings fixedly supported above the pan, spindles journaled in the bearings and operatively connected with said vertical shaft, and for each spindle a muller having a shoe at its lower end resting on the bottom of the pan and a cavity in its body loosely receiving the spindle, an upstanding spur on the muller, and a dog on the spindle having a radial nose engaging the spur whereby the muller may rise and fall on the spindle and move to a posibut will be rotated with it.

12. In a grinding machine, the combination with a pan rotating on an upright axis and having passages near the center of its bottom, and means for feeding material to be ground into the top of the pan near its periphery; of a series of bearings fixedly carried above the pan, spindles journaled therein and hanging into the pan, means all said spindles, a lateral nose on the lower end of each spindle, a cupped muller loosely embracing the lower end of the spindle and having a spur engaged by said nose, the cavity inrthe muller being appreciably larger than the spindle so that a the former may assume a position eccentric to the latter, and a shoe carried by the lower end. of the muller.

13. In a grinder, the combination with '9.

fiat bottomed pan rotating on an upright axis; of a rotating spindle mounted in a fixed bearing and depending into the pan and having a lateral nose, a muller in two parts channeled on their inner faces to produce a cavity loosely receiving the lower end of the spindle, one of the parts having a spur engaged by said nose, means for connecting the parts with each other, and a shoe adapted to rest on the bottom of the pan, the shoe having a rib clamped between said parts.

14. In a grinder, the combination with a pan rotating on an upright axis; of a support above the pan, spindles journaled in said support and disposed in two series around said axis, grinding elements loosely mounted on said spindles for action by gravity on the material within the pan, and means for rotating the elements in each series in a direction opposite to those in the other.

15. In a grinder, the combination with a pan rotating on an upright axis; of a support above the pan, spindles carried by the support and disposed in pairs in two rings around said axis, grinding elements loosely and eccentrically mounted on the lower ends of the spindles and adapted to coact with the pan, and means for rotating the spindles of each pair simultaneously and oppositely.

16. In a grinder the combination with a pan, of a muller in the pan, and a spindle for the muller operatively connected therewith for rotating the muller, the muller having limited movement both vertically and horizontally with respect to the spindle.

17. In a grinder the combination with a rotatable pan, of a muller within the pan and eccentric thereto, and a rotary spindle for the muller connected therewith for rotating it, the muller having limited movement independent of the spindle in a plurality of directions. I

In testimony whereof, I have aflixed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM DE GOURSEY.

Witnesses:

J. L. MORRIS, W. C. VAN Nnss, Jr. 

